


Got Your Love to Keep Me Warm

by SensationalSunburst



Series: With Your Shield or On It [2]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fluff, Knitting, Knitting Shops are Heaven, M/M, Magical Realism AU, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-24 21:51:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20021602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SensationalSunburst/pseuds/SensationalSunburst
Summary: “This is my friend, Andrew. He’s looking to learn to Imbue and knit.” Renee said, gesturing to the boy.“Is that so?” She said, scooting off her stool to hobble around the counter.“He’s going to need some supplies.” Renee said, stepping around Andrew’s statue to join Julie next to the floor-to-ceiling display of needles.OrIn which Andrew learns to knit





	Got Your Love to Keep Me Warm

**Author's Note:**

> A return to our Magical Realism AU, featuring knitting!

“How the hell are you wearing a scarf right now? It’s 90 degrees!” Matt melted further into the bed of the hotel, stripped down to his swim trunks he was spread eagle on the duvet, trying to catch as much of the pathetic breeze generated by the puttering ceiling fan above him as possible. 

“Renee made it for me,” Allison boasted, stroking the pale pink lace looped across her neck. Its color perfectly matched her bikini top, shorts and the pearlescent shine of her fingernails. 

“-spoiled little brat.” Matt moaned. 

Neil, drenched with sweat in his own tank top and swim trunks and sprawled on the tiled hotel floor, turned his head to Andrew in search of an explanation. 

“It’s imbued with Renee’s Ice.” Andrew said, he lifted the armbands he was wearing and gestured to the palm trees embroidered along their length. 

Neil hovered has hand above them and sighed at the cool air radiating from it. 

“It's easy to Imbue knitted stuff,” Dan said, “I mean, at least for me. Focus is what's important, but not everyone's magic is exactly suitable.” 

“Historically,” Kevin said, “People who could ward were blacksmiths and tailors because they could add their wards to their clothing and armour.” He flipped himself over from where he was spread eagle on the floor with Andrew and Neil, completing their triangle of overheated misery. “But wards don't work if the caster is dead; it's why the fact that there are wards left from prehistoric times that _still_ _work_ is such a mystery. Either the caster is still alive or it's magic that we've never seen in modern times.” 

“Or it's  _ aliens. _ ” Nicky said, he fluffed his hair into a halo around his head and bracketed it with his hands, earning a chorus of laughter. He beamed and settled back, nuding Kevin's foot with his toe to wipe the petulant scowl off his face. 

“Up you get,” Wymack said, knocking on the door as he opened it, “Bus is gassed up and ready to go, let's hit the pool before we fucking melt in this hellhole.” 

There was a relieved groan of a cheer as the team peeled themselves off of various pieces of furniture and shuffled out the door, but Neil paused, watching as Andrew and Renee shared a long, loaded glance. In the end, Renee smiled brightly and nodded her head towards her travel bag. Andrew nodded back, a sharp uptick of his head that sent his sweat soaked golden curls flopping awkwardly to the top of his head, before turning on his heel. He plopped Neil's bright orange sun hat onto his head as he passed and prodded him forward with a finger to the small of his back. 

Julie had owned Darn Knit & Cafe for twenty years and she had  _ never  _ had a customer like Minyard. Just as tall as she was, the blank faced co-ed stalked into her store with Renee on a sweltering summer evening and cast a critical eye to her wall-to-wall displays of yarn, lingering, like most did, on the giant steins stacked atop the shelves for blankets, like the ones draped across the back of the couches pushed in the corner, or rugs, like the multicolored monster they were standing on. 

“Renee, my dear, welcome back! How did the scarf work?” Julie asked. She and Renee kissed cheeks and she smiled at the boy even though he didn’t seem capable of smiling back. 

“Perfectly, it kept her cool all day without being too cold.” Renee said. 

“See, don’t let anyone tell you that you gotta be drunk to Imbue, it helps if you’re a bit stunted, but otherwise, a good cup of tea and music works best.” 

“This is my friend, Andrew. He’s looking to learn to Imbue and knit.” Renee said, gesturing to the boy. He’d crossed his arms, face blank but not unfriendly even as he visibly sized her up. His chaotic mass of white blonde curls were in need of a haircut, as several perfect coils were falling into his sharp amber eyes, but he was certainly a handsome little devil, which, combined with the fact that it was Renee who’d brought him in, had Julie warming to him instantly.

“Is that so?” She said, scooting off her stool to hobble around the counter. 

“He’s going to need some supplies.” Renee said, stepping around Andrew’s statue to join Julie next to the floor-to-ceiling display of needles. 

“Circular or-?” Julie leaned around Renee and sized up the respectable width of the boy’s arms, zeroing in on the bulking under his black armbands. “I reckon straight would work too, don’t suspect wrist weakness with that one.” 

Renee laughed and turned, gesturing for Andrew to join them as she pulled a set of straight needles from the wall. 

“What color do you want to start with?” She said, gesturing to a neat display of cubbies filled with small balls of yarn. 

Andrew cast a disinterested eye over the display until it landed on their PSU collection tucked in the corner on the shelf over. The yarn transitioned from white to bright, Fox orange, then back, hand dyed by a local artisan. He rocked on to his tiptoes to grab it and silently presented it to them both. 

“Oh, that’s perfect!” Renee said, “Very  _ Neil _ .” She tucked a piece of pale pink hair behind her ear and smiled at the slight scowl that marred Andrew’s face. 

Julie nodded and turned her head so her good ear could Listen to them both. From Renee, as always, came the howling of a terrible blizzard, the cracking of ice over a lake from under unsuspecting feet and the groan of icebergs colliding. From Andrew, it was the slamming of wooden doors, the chaotic clang of metal armour, pounding on iron shields, all underscored by a fierce, warm hum. 

“Ah,” Julie said, carrying her arthritic bones to the collection of couches in the corner, “Wards are easiest to Imbue. We’ll start with casting on.” 

Renee plopped down to the couch and flipped on the electric tea kettle on the coffee table, “Cocoa, Andrew?” 

Andrew, who’d frozen when she’d mentioned his Gift, finally moved, seating himself on Renee’s other side. 

“To start,” Julie said, ignoring his continued silence, “Remember that you must keep your focus in mind in order to fully Imbue the project. We’ll start with straight needles.” She set his pair in front of him on the coffee table and sat back. Once she was out of range, he grabbed them off the table and accepted the mug of cocoa from Renee. 

“First, we make a slip knot.” 

Edict memory meant that Andrew picked up knitting, purling, casting off, tassels, hats and socks in no time at all. It was equal parts impressive and infuriating that Julie could show him a pattern once and he could knock it out perfectly without glancing at it again. Before long, he’d silently purchased several sets of needles and had moved on to working with all different weights and kinds of yarn. He’d abandoned the lessons and instead came into to buy the softest, fluffiest steins they had, usually in various shades of orange. But he’d also picked up shades of pink, a few reds and emerald greens, even a beautiful opal color that Julie had been eyeing for months. 

Usually, he picked up his yarn and left, but sometimes he stayed and curled himself under her charmed blankets with enough oversweeteened cocoa to invoke diabetes to work alongside her in companionable silence. Sometimes, Julie would talk, ranting about her competition across town ( _ Knock, Knot & Haberdashery _ , for fuck’s sake) or her grandkids or the general state of the world. Andrew rarely replied except to, on rare occasions, snort or shake his head. 

He made floppy little beanies, thick scarves, and warm socks. He even donated squares for the folks who made blankets for newborns and the elderly. 

And each and every one of them hummed with the magic of his wards. 

“What- Look at the size of those!” 

A hand poked up from between her shelves as the door jingled shut. It was wrapped in bright orange fingerless gloves, which, upon closer inspection were revealed to be convertible mittens. 

And since there was only one customer who bought her Fox orange wool regularly, she settled back into the high backed hair behind the counter and flicked on the kettle. 

There was further mummering and then from around the corner Andrew emerged, several steins cradled in his arms and a slightly taller boy at his back. Wrapped tightly around his neck was a bright orange and white striped scarf, humming with Andrew’s wards, just like the mittens on his hands and the floppy beanie covering his dark auburn hair. 

“Julie.” Andrew greeted, depositing his wool on the counter. As always, she was surprised at how deep his voice was; rough as if he’d just woken up with the kind of gravel she was unprepared for in so young a person. 

“Oh,” Neil, because he could only be The Neil if he was wearing that much orange, said, “This is  _ the shop _ .” 

“No,” Andrew said, pulling out his credit card, “This is the liquor store.” 

“And  _ you  _ must be Neil.” Julie smirked. 

Neil immediately looked to Andrew, spine straightening under the bulk of his- no,  _ Andrew’s _ \- letterman jacket, but when Andrew didn't react any more than shoving his credit card in her direction harder, he relaxed, a small, funny little smile pulling crookedly at the corner of his mouth where the deep line of a well-healed scar cut close to his lips. 

“Have some cocoa for the road, it's nippy out there.” Julie said. She pushed his receipt and a paper cup full of essentially melted chocolate in his direction. He handed the cup off to Neil, but nodded his thanks with an expression that was caught somewhere in the vicinity of a grimace.

Two weeks later, the door to Julie's shop jingled a few minutes after she flipped the sign open. 

Most of her customers were tall enough to see over the top of her display shelves, but the only indication she had that someone had actually entered the store now was the sound of keys jingling as they made their way towards the counter. 

She Listened, and heard the faint scrape of metal against metal, the particular hum of Andrew’s wards woven together with the sharp, high call of a hawk, bare feet against hardwood and something that sounded like glass grinding together. 

“Good morning, Neil,” She said and from around the closest aisle the boy’s confused, scarred faced poked out at her. 

“How did you know?” 

“I’m a witch,” She smirked. 

“And?”   
“And, I Heard you.” She waved a wrinkled hand at him, dismissing the topic, “What can I do for you? Where is your shorter half?” 

“Asleep,” Neil said, and Julie only then noticed that he was dressed in athletic gear, a thin band of sweat darkening his collar. “Andrew’s been doing a lot of…uh,  _ this  _ lately. I was hoping to grab something that may help him.” 

Julie raised a single eyebrow and slid herself from her stool. Andrew, as last she remembered, was using a pair of straight needles and yet Neil’s sweaty auburn curls had been confined to a bright orange beanie clearly knitted by Andrew, if the wards humming along its surface were anything to go by. 

“Your boy’s pretty good, what do you mean?” 

“Like- uh, like a gift? Is there something he doesn’t have from here? Besides string?” 

“ _ Yarn _ .”

“Sure.” 

“Well,” Julie said, sweeping her hair behind her ear as she shuffled to the display to the right of the counter of needles, “He could probably use a good set of circular needles.” She plucked a pair off the wall and held them up for Neil’s inspection. 

“If you want a gift, I’d go with these. He can unscrew them here,” She tapped the tip of the needles, “And affix different gauges- needle sizes.” 

Neil nodded and handed the package back, “Sure, I’ll take it.” 

Julie smiled and threw in a few place markers as well as a heavy duty hand cream on the house and set the boy off to finish was she was assuming was a run. 

Two weeks later, Neil was back, again soaked in sweat and clearly in the middle of a run. 

“Neil,” Julie greeted, tucked under a charmed blanket. Winter took a lot out of her at this age, dragging down her bones and muting her Hearing, so she tended to let her granddaughters mind the register as she sulked on the couches in the cafe. 

“Julie.” He gasped. 

“Do- do you,” He threw his head back, exposing the long line of his throat and took a deep, centering breath, “Sorry.” 

“Good lord, son, catch your breath. You’re lucky enough not to catch your death running in this cold.” With joints that cracked like ice, Julie snatched her walking stick and shuffled to the fridge tucked in the back corner of a shop to pull out a bottle of water for the boy. He drained it in a single go, leaning heavily against her counter before he could fully communicate his request. 

“Do you have any Imbued yarn? With Fire?” He asked. 

“Of course,” Julie huffed, she’d just gotten comfortable in her chair, so she used the pointed end of her cane to indicate to the shelves budding up against the windows. “Look there, the shelves are lined in red.” 

Then, for the first time, he smiled at her. 

And of course,  _ of course,  _ Andrew would cover this boy in wards.  _ Of course _ , because that? 

That was the sun. 

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you so much for reading! Please feel free to pop a comment below!


End file.
